Wessex AHSN publishes final outcomes from making the region's GP surgeries Dementia Friendly

Over 41,000 people in Wessex have dementia and numbers are predicted to double by 2050. It is the biggest health issue we face and due to the growing ageing population in some parts of the region, incidence rates are higher than the average for England.

The dementia friendly primary care ‘iSPACE’ project was introduced into GP practices across Wessex as an innovative, cost-effective solution to enhance services for people with dementia.  The project comprised a number of actions designed to enhance patient experience through a set of improvements in care planning, communications and dementia awareness for staff working in primary care.

During the past three years (2014-17), the project team publicised this project throughout the Wessex region and the final report has now been published.  

• Over 150 surgeries are dementia friendly 
  
  
• Nearly 3,000 (2,969) surgery staff have received dementia training at the tier one (awareness level) stage, and a further 244 people have received talks about dementia and the project 
  
  
• This means the project is impacting over 15,000 people living with dementia across surgeries, which are collectively caring for over 1.4 million people 
  
  
• Dorset, NE Hants and West Hants CCGs are aiming at 100% dementia friendly surgery status – currently they stand at 56%, 70% and 46% respectively 
  

Broadly speaking, the iSPACE work has led to: 

• Fewer A&E admissions for patients with dementia 

• More patients with personalised care plans 

• Fewer appointments needed with GPs, which has freed-up appointments for other patients. 

The report summarises the project and contains what it found, the evaluation by Wessex AHSN's Centre for Implementation Science, how iSPACE improves lives for patients and their carers, and who to contact if you're interested in embedding iSPACE in your setting.